Joy and Strength (Christian life and music)

Oh how rich is God's Word!  When we really let it soak in, the encouragement and strength we receive is unfathomable!  Italicized here are some verses from Isaiah 58: 6-11, as told in the first person.   Backdrop:  the Jews had been fasting for the sake of fasting and had forgotten what the fast was really for: to draw closer to God, to break yokes of oppression, to satisfy deep spiritual needs - not to look "spiritual" or check it off our Christian to-do list.   The Lord then goes on to list what type of "fast"  does  loosen the yokes, does set the oppressed free, and does feed the poor. If I share with the poor and hungry and homeless. my light will break out like dawn!  My recovery will speedily go forth!  Righteousness will go before me!  And the glory of the Lord will be my rear guard!  Alleluia! So how do I share with the poor, hungry and homeless?  Of course not every Christian takes these verses literally, or ...

The Lord is teaching me so much lately. As I "step out to find out," as Joyce Meyer says, He is faithful to ultimately make clear His best way for me. As we make decisions that may "feel" right, sometimes we step out into those decisions and only realize afterwards that they were not God's best for us. So we just cross that thing off the list and move on! I don't see them as mistakes any more but as all a part of the process of following Jesus. None of us has 100% perfect radar when yielding to the Holy Spirit; none of us hears perfectly all the time. And that's ok. Jesus knows that we want His will and that we seek Him in order to know His will and do it. If we are in any sort of danger in a decision, He will most assuredly check our spirits and let us know. But sometimes, we need to learn what is not the best in order to move toward what is His best for us. Two steps ahead, one back is what I always say! That's a hard pill to swallow f...

  My prayer for you is that you come to know, realize, and experience the love of God for you - personally, truly, and really.  You will be found.

Anyone can "build a better life" when things are going well. The trick is building one when surrounded by trials and woes. I think of people like Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Corrie ten Boom. They live on in fame because of this one thing: they held to Christ, their deep faith, while going through hell. Their surroundings were nothing near their "best life!" But their inner life was pure gold; it is what held them together, what brought them through to the end. Dietrich's end was a hanging. Corrie was eventually released from the prison camp but had lost most of her family. She went on to speak for the Lord of her testimony and write books for Him. I guess what I'm getting at is this: there are many living their "best lives" who will soon be forgotten after their gone. People are more inspired by overcomers than "success." People like rooting for the underdog, the downtrodden, and such. God was absolutely Sovereign over Corrie...

  There is a saying that dreams have no expiration date.  I find that especially true in God's economy.  God has forever to work out His plans for our lives.  He knows that the works we do to "make this world a better place" are temporary.  After all, the world itself has an expiration date - and it will have nothing to do with "global warming" or "climate change" but only to do with the Sovereignty of God.  He alone declares "game over."  His dream for us is everlasting and goes far beyond this temporal life.   So keep dreaming but remember that the fulfillment of any earthly dream will never compare with the glory that awaits us and the fruition of all we could ever hope for, ask, or imagine. From 2 Peter chapter 3: 7 But the heaven we see now and the earth we live on now have been kept by His word. They will be kept until they are to be destroyed by fire. They will be kept until the day men stand before God and sinners will be destroyed. 8...

  People seem to like this one.  

  I love these verses this song is based on.  Listen to my song, "God is Able," and be at peace.